Day 7 – Mallaig to Onich
I arrived at the Marine Hotel in Mallaig cold and wet after a miserable ride across Skye to catch the ferry at Armadale.
Libby greeted me and showed me to my room on the first floor and then took me on a rather circuitous route around the back of the hotel to stow my bike. There was no shed but Lucy sat under the fire escape in an open yard that was guarded by a not very ferocious dog. I was able to wash and dry everything overnight, particularly my shoes, thanks to an electric heater in the bedroom and a heated towel rail in the bathroom. My cycling gear was hung by an open window and was dry by morning.
I went to eat at the Crab and Creel restaurant and had a very tasty Cullen Skink with a very ordinary bread roll followed by a pork chop, loads of new potatoes and steamed greens. A couple of pints of Pale Ale hit the spot. Altogether a very good meal in a restaurant that was doing good trade. Opposite the hotel the Co-op stayed open late, and I bought a bottle of Belhaven bitter and some Jaffa cakes to help with the blog.
Breakfast this morning was a walk of all of 10 yards down the corridor. I’d already ordered porridge which was lacking in salt but easy to put right and the best FSB so far with very tasty black pudding and Haggis and the best bacon yet. Jacqueline was queen of the breakfast room and looked after us very well with a lovely smile. After I’d packed, she was able to show me a short cut to my bike which saved a good deal of bother.
I was away at 0934: rain was in the air but the first 25 miles was relatively dry and the wind was not too bad. I passed some white sand beaches: the pictures don’t do them justice on an overcast day.
and followed the coast route rather than the main road. I was in sight of sea lochs for most of the day, many of them carved well inland from the open sea.
At Lochailort I joined a road that I cycled back in 2019 when I visited Ardnamurchan on my trip to the four extreme geographical points of Britain.
I recognised bits of it including the Seven Men of Moidart, Bonnie Prince Charlie’s compatriots. The trees haven’t grown
The rain now started, not heavy but proper Scotch Mist and everything was soon drenched. I stopped, as in 2019, at the food store in Acharacle for some water and Jaffa Cakes and, as much as anything else, to stretch my legs. My left knee is niggling me and needs a walk every now and then to ease the ache.
The road took me through Salen, where I stayed the night in 2019, and then eastwards along Loch Sunart. The road was narrow with passing places, through dense trees with no views and the journey to Strontian was miserable.
I now had to climb over the watershed to Loch Linnhe, not steep but I kept the motor running the whole time as I had plenty of battery power left. I was relieved to reach Ardgour where the Corran ferry takes vehicles across the Loch,
I only had 2 miles on the far side to arrive at my lodging for the night, a self- contained pod. Hopefully I’ll be able to dry everything by morning although the weather forecast is for more rain so It’ll soon be wet again.
